Association between bronchial asthma and TSLP gene polymorphism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: This study entails an association between bronchial asthma and common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) gene; rs2289278, rs3806933, rs2289276, and rs1837253. Methods: The databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for studies reporting TSLP polymorphisms and asthma from inception to January 2022. Hardy-Weinberg equilibriums (HWE) for each polymorphism of the control group were checked using the χ 2 test. The association was estimated by means of odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI in both dominant and recessive modes of inheritance, respectively. Results: Altogether, 11 studies with 3121 asthma cases and 3041 healthy controls were added. Results from six studies showed that the SNP rs2289278 had a protective role in asthma development (OR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.44-0.97, P=0.04). Pooling of four studies showed that the SNP rs3806933 had higher odds of developing asthma (OR=1.32, 95% CI:1.14-1.54, P<0.01). However, the SNP rs2289276 and rs1837253 showed no significant association. From the subgroup analysis, SNPs rs2289278 and rs1837253 were protective against the development of asthma in Asia. However, SNP rs2289276 showed a risk association in Asia and in adults. Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that the SNP rs2289278 has a protective effect on the development of asthma; whereas rs3806933 has a risk of asthma. Additionally, this study adds genomic-based support to the recent FDA approval of tezepelumab, an anti-TSLP agent.

Virtual and augmented reality in cardiovascular care in low and middle income country.

The global health sector has witnessed an escalating integration of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, particularly in high-income countries. The application of these cutting-edge technologies is gradually extending to Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), notably in the domain of cardiovascular care. AR and VR technologies are revolutionizing cardiovascular care by offering solutions for diagnosis, medical training, and surgical planning. AR and VR provide detailed and immersive visualizations of cardiac structures, aiding in diagnosis and intervention planning. In cardiovascular care, VR reduces patient-reported pain, eases anxiety, and accelerates post-procedural recovery. AR and VR are also valuable for life support training, creating immersive and controlled learning environments. AR and VR have the potential to significantly impact healthcare in low- and middle-income countries with enhanced accessibility and affordability. This review outlines the existing spectrum of VR and AR adoption and its burgeoning utility in the cardiovascular domain within LMICs.

An unusual case of transverse myelitis in dengue fever: A case report from Nepal.

Key Clinical Message: Dengue fever can also have various neurological complications but involvement of the spinal cord is often unusual. This is a case where the patient had transverse myelitis as a complication of dengue fever. Abstract: Dengue fever can have various neurological complications but involvement of the spinal cord is often unusual. We report a case of a 49-year-old female, a known case of dengue fever, who presented with urine retention, inability to stand and walk with tingling sensation of bilateral lower limbs. Her vibration and joint position sensation was reduced below T2 level along with altered reflexes but MRI could not explain the examination findings. She was diagnosed clinically as transverse myelitis (TM) in the background of dengue fever. She showed drastic improvement with treatment of steroids. As TM as a complication in a patient with dengue fever is rare, and due to the paucity of similar case reports in Nepal, this case report is of value for the scientific community.

Navigating the Role of Smartwatches in Cardiac Fitness Monitoring: Insights From Physicians and the Evolving Landscape.

Alongside the advancement of technology, wearable devices like smartwatches have widely been used for monitoring heartbeat, SpO2, EKG, and pacemaker activity. However, the global question is- can they be as effective as our standard diagnostic tests- electrocardiogram and echocardiography? Reported in the studies, smartwatches to the gold standard Holter monitoring for recognizing irregular pulse showed good sensitivity (98.2%), specificity (98.1%), and accuracy (98.1%). Smartwatches can be good enough for helping people get long-term monitoring of cardiac fitness and early diagnosis of atrial fibrillation but physicians shouldn't completely rely on them and perform standard investigations once the patient with symptoms visits them. We are also concerned that there must be certain rules and regulations for FDA approval of smartwatches to maintain standard criteria before they are released in the market.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis following the COVID-19 Vaccine Sinopharm in low- and middle-income country: a case report.

Introduction and importance: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and various vaccines against it have been developed. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a disease of the central nervous system that cause inflammation and demyelination and manifests as a multi-symptom acute neurological condition. Although infections are usually the cause of ADEM, vaccines may cause 5-10% of cases. Case presentation: A 40-year-old woman had received a second dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine 4 months before her visit and experienced sudden gait imbalance and vertigo a day after her vaccination, which lasted for more than a month. On examination, no signs of skin bruising or bleeding were observed, and her vital signs were within the normal range. On neurological assessment, the patient had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14/15 (E4V5M5), had normal pupil size and light reaction, normal fundus, normal deep tendon reflexes and bilateral extensor plantar response. Meningeal symptoms were absent, and SARS-CoV-2 RNA tests using NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) were negative. Development of central nervous system (CNS) manifestations during the recovery phase of fever, along with typical MRI findings; the diagnosis of para-infectious ADEM with COVID-19 vaccination was made. After the treatment with methylprednisolone sodium succinate injection, the patient showed improvement. Clinical discussion: ADEM associated with post-vaccinations is a rare condition. There has been growing evidence that shared epitopes between neuronal proteins and SARS-CoV-2 antigens may trigger autoimmune reactions against the CNS through molecular mimicry as its pathogenesis. Conclusion: We suggest the need for a strict vaccine safety monitoring system and post-vaccine monitoring and surveillance.

Disseminated cysticercosis with tongue involvement: a rare case report from Nepal.

Introduction and importance: Cysticercosis is a condition in which humans are infected by the larval form of the pork tapeworm Tenia solium. Cysticercosis in humans is common in the cerebral tissue but rare in the tongue. Case presentation: Here, the authors report a rare case of a 38-year-old male with neurocysticercosis and cysticercosis of the tongue. The patient presented with a complaint of loss of consciousness for 4-5 min. Local examination of his oral cavity revealed a swelling of ~2×2 cm on the tongue. An MRI of the brain showed various stages of neurocysticercosis involving the neuroparenchyma and tongue. For this, he was started on low-dose prednisolone of 50 mg tapered over 6 weeks and levetiracetam of 500 mg BD continued for his seizure episodes. He is responding well with the medications and is planned to start antiparasitic agent only after the perilesional edema decreases. Clinical discussion: Cysticercosis may involve the central nervous system, muscle, heart, lungs, peritoneum, eye, and subcutaneous tissue. Oral cavity and perioral involvement by cysticercous larva is rare in humans. Radiologic imaging, serology, and tissue biopsy can be used to confirm a diagnosis of cysticercosis. The most common locations for oral cysticercosis are the tongue, buccal mucosa, lower lip, and upper lip.Only 102 cases of oral cysticercosis have been reported based on a PubMed English-language literature search. Conclusion: Oral cysticercosis is a rare event, and it represents a difficulty in clinical diagnosis. But a patient with a mass in the tongue should be considered as a possible case of cysticercosis especially in endemic regions like Nepal.

Pressure sore at an unusual site: the bilateral knee - a case report.

A pressure ulcer is a skin and soft tissue injury that commonly occur on bony prominences like the ischium, sacrum, heel, malleolus, and occiput but the knee is not the usual site for pressure ulcers. Here, the authors present a case of a pressure ulcer over an unusual site, the knee. Case presentation: The authors reported a case of a 66-year-old male, last seen 5 days ago by his son, who was found on the floor (with the knee on the ground) and was brought to the hospital. The patient had no history of mobility issue. On initial assessment his vitals were unstable but Glasgow Coma Scale 15/15 and CT head and ECG were unremarkable. On knee examination, there was bilateral grazing and bruising diagnosed as grade 3 and grade 4 pressure sore in the right and left knee, respectively. The pressure ulcer was managed adhering to the principles to remove all pressure, keep the ulcer clean, prevent further injury, and regular dressing by tissue viability nurses. On 17 March 2023, the patient was discharged from the hospital to a care home after his condition improved. Clinical discussion: A comprehensive review of the medical literature found no other reports of pressure sore at knee. A few published articles showed pressure sore as a complication of prone positioning. It is postulated that fall and long-term lie on the knees have developed this pressure ulcer. Conclusion: The Clinicians should be vigilant to check for pressure ulcers especially in all the bony prominences in any patients having an unwitnessed fall.

Experiencing Dengue as a Medical Student.

Dengue is a disease which spreads by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Reading about a disease in a textbook and experiencing it as a patient is a completely different thing. This article highlights the feeling of a medical student as a patient. It provides the reader with an idea of how Basic Science knowledge can be used for rational decision-making. Self- prescription of medication without consulting a doctor can be more harmful in many circumstances. We also need to be aware of the warning signs of Dengue virus infection. Keywords: clopidogrel; dengue; medical student.

Versatile Use of Nanosponge in the Pharmaceutical Arena: A Mini-Review.

Drug delivery for a long time has been a major problem in the pharmaceutical field. The development of a new Nano-carrier system called nanosponge has shown the potential to solve the problem. Nanosponge has a porous structure and can entrap the drug in it. It can carry both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. They also provide controlled release of the drugs and can also protect various substances from degradation. Nanosponge can increase the solubility of drugs and can also be formulated into an oral, topical and parenteral dosage form. The current review explores different preparation techniques, characterization parameters, as well as various applications of nanosponge. Various patents related to nanosponge drug delivery system have been discussed in this study.

A Comprehensive Review on Nanotechnology-Based Innovations in Topical Drug Delivery for the Treatment of Skin Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Skin is the largest organ of the body and helps to regulate several physiological functions. It acts as a barrier that protects the body against UV-radiation, toxic substances, infections, etc. The abnormal growth of the skin cells is called skin cancer. Different types of skin cancer can be classified as Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC); which mainly occur due to chronic exposure to UV- sunlight and pollution. METHODS: The conventional topical treatments of skin cancer such as cream, gel, ointment, etc., are more occlusive and thus they do not penetrate deep into the skin (dermal layer) and remain at the upper part of the skin (epidermal layer). The stratum corneum acts as a physiological barrier for the drug-loaded in the conventional formulation. The novel carrier systems have the potential to facilitate the penetration of the drug deep into the skin (dermal layer) because these have less size and higher flexibility than conventional treatment. CONCLUSION: In the present review, we have discussed various novel carrier systems being investigated for the topical application of chemotherapeutic agents for efficient skin targeting and better dermatological as well as therapeutic benefits with minimal systemic exposure and toxicity.

Withdrawal Notice: The Recent Advancement in the Field of Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) for Aiming Breast Cancer

The article has been withdrawn at the request of the authors and editor of the journal Current Drug MetabolismBentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused.The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php. Bentham Science Disclaimer: It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. Furthermore, any data, illustration, structure or table that has been published elsewhere must be reported, and copyright permission for reproduction must be obtained. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and by submitting the article for publication the authors agree that the publishers have the legal right to take appropriate action against the authors, if plagiarism or fabricated information is discovered. By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright of their article is transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for publication.